By JIDAUNA DARING
The Northern Plateau Generation Peace Youth Camp (GPY) of the Plateau State Peace Building Agency (PSPBA) has credited the remarkable success and impact of its programmes to the dissemination of lessons from recent peace-building training workshops into their respective communities.
The GPY participants and other stakeholders made this known at a one-day success story harvest organised for PSPBA community peace structures in Northern Plateau, held at the Crest Hotel, Jos, recently.
They revealed that strategies employed included advocacy visits to various communities, community sensitisation on the dangers of drug abuse and the organisation of peace dialogues among different communities.
The GPY commended PSPBA for deeming them worthy to be trained as Peace Ambassadors of their respective communities and localities, adding that the training had equipped them to promote and preach peace throughout the Northern Plateau.
They described dialogue as one of the most effective tools for fostering and maintaining lasting peace, which they emphasised remained the foundation for development.
The GPY appealed to youth to avoid any acts capable of fomenting conflict and urged them to embrace peace at all times.
Declaring the workshop open, Director General of PSPBA, Dr. Julie Sanda, represented by the agency’s Director of Programme, Mr. Joseph Nantip, welcomed the participants and explained that the purpose of organising the workshop was to assess the outcomes of the participants following the recent peace-building training.
Dr. Sanda affirmed that the workshop was a deliberate policy of the agency to evaluate what participants had learned during their various training engagements with PSPBA.
Presenting a paper titled, ‘Understanding Violent Extremism’, Hope Chuwang emphasised the importance of respect for life and individual identity, dialogue over confrontation, forgiveness and reconciliation, as well as building trust and empathy.
Chuwang stressed the necessity for people to cultivate a spirit of forgiveness and coexistence irrespective of tribe or religion.
She attributed some causes of the lack of job opportunities to marginalisation, injustice, peer pressure and manipulation, poor governance and corruption.
Chuwang further maintained that promoting non-violent approaches can be achieved through organising youth peace walks, conducting social media campaigns to foster tolerance, engaging in community service and encouraging interfaith dialogue, among others.